PART - II.01 - Introduction To DeDiCont

Course:
Networked Control
Part II: Decentralized and distributed control - Introduction
Prof. Marcello Farina
Dipartimento di Elettronica, Informazione e Bioingegneria (DEIB)

Politecnico di Milano, Italy
marcello.farina@polimi.it
Examples
Many infrastructures and engineering systems can be regarded as «networks»
of a (often large) number of simple interacting units, e.g.,
Marcello Farina Introduction to distributed and decentralized control

Examples
• Natural gas treatment plants: interaction of
separators, heat exchangers, chillers,
mixers, separation columns, ...

Examples
• Electric grids

Examples
• Electric grids
• Fleets of underwater autonomous

vehicles

Examples
• Electric grids
• Fleets of underwater autonomous

vehicles
• Irrigation channels

Examples
Electric grid
Traditional grid
Distribution grid
Transmission
line
Consumers
Power plant (loads)
(generation)
Drawbacks:
• Few generation plants far from loads
• Large use of fossil fuels

Examples
Electric grid
Traditional grid
Distribution grid
Transmission
line
Consumers
Power plant (loads)
(generation)
Drawbacks:
• Few generation plants far from loads
• Large use of fossil fuels
Increasing demand and availability of local (i..e, at consumer level)

and «clean» electricity (e.g., PV panels, wind turbines)!
Examples
Electric grid
Advent of smart grids
Transmission
line
Power plant
(main Micro-grid
generation) (generation+
loads +
Benefits:
batteries)
• Distributed generation close to loads
• Increasing use of renewables
• Redundancy
• Modularity

Examples
Electric grid
Transmission
line
Power plant
(main Micro-grid
generation) (generation+
loads +
Benefits:
batteries)
• Distributed generation close to loads
• Increasing use of renewables
• Redundancy
• Modularity
• Possibility of operation in islanded mode (self-sufficient network of
distributed generation units)
Examples
Electric grid
Control and optimization issues at different levels:

Examples
Electric grid

• Single generation unit level:
• Stable operation.
• Reactive power control .

Examples
Electric grid

• Single generation unit level:
• Stable operation.
• Reactive power control .
• Single microgrid level:
• Guarantee the fulfillment of energy needs (with possibly controllable
loads).
• Maximize gain from local production.
• Minimize purchase from the grid.
• Frequency/voltage regulation (especally in case of islanded operation).

Examples
Electric grid
• Aggregator level:
• Cluster of microgrids that take the role of a (virtual) power plant
• Active power reserves
• Reactive power reserves

Examples
Electric grid
Traditional centralized control structures are not suitable
Need of more complex control architectures

• Control at different levels
• Coordination

Examples
Electric grid
Traditional centralized control structures are not suitable
Need of more complex control architectures

• Control at different levels
• Coordination
Novel hierarchical and

distributed control architectures

Examples
Fleets of underwater autonomous vehicles for sensing
Goal: design a mobile sensor network to collect measurements from a field

• e.g., salinity, temperature, chlorophyll fluorescence (i.e., a proxy for the
concentration of phyloplancton, bottom of marine food chain, indicator of the
state of the marine ecosystem and of the atmosphere)
• optimal measurements: sensors should move in a rigid formation.
From: N. E. Leonard et al. Collective motion, sensor networks, and ocean sampling.
Proceedings of the IEEE, 95 (1), pp. 48-74
Examples
Irrigation networks
• Centralized
computation
• Centralized
information structure

Examples
Irrigation networks
• Centralized Not compatible with a
computation possibly very large-
• Centralized scale system!

Examples
Irrigation networks
• Centralized Distributed or
Not compatible with a
computation possibly very large- decentralized
• Centralized scale system! solutions are
information structure necessary!

Examples
Irrigation networks
Actions, taken at local pool levels, are
• Local computation
computed locally based on local information
• Decentralized

Examples
Irrigation networks
Actions, taken at local pool levels, are
• Local computation
computed locally based on local information
• Distributed
+ information transmitted by neighboring gates’
control systems
Marcello Farina Introduction

Introductionto
toNetworked
distributed Control
and decentralized control
Large-scale and complex systems
All the mentioned examples (and many more…) are systems characterized by a
(complex) network of many heterogeneous systems. They are referred to, in the
literature, as
• Complex systems
• Large-scale systems
«Multi-agent systems» is a subclass of network-structured systems,

characterized by the fact that the dynamics of the subsystems are independent.

literature, as
• Complex systems

𝑢1 𝑦1
𝑢2 𝑦2
𝑢3 𝒮 𝑦3

literature, as
• Complex systems

𝑢1 𝑦1 Physical
𝒮1 interactions.
𝑢2 𝑦2
𝒮2
𝑢3 𝑦3
𝒮3
Challenges
• High dimensionality: large number of

• subsystems in which the overall system
can be subdivided; 𝑢1 𝑦1
• variables characterizing the system state; 𝒮1
• outputs;
• variables to be manipulated for control. 𝑢2 𝑦2
𝒮2
𝑢3 𝑦3
• Information structure constraints: in view 𝒮3
of the system sparsity, physical constraints
may prevent information to be transmissible
without limitations.
• Uncertainties: they may affect the single

subsystems and their interconnections (which
may also be time varying).

Control schemes and architectures 𝑢 𝑦1
1
Centralized control structures: 𝒮1
𝑢2 𝑦2
𝒮2
𝑢3 𝑦3
𝒮3

1
𝑢2 𝑦2
𝒮2
𝑢3 𝑦3
𝒮3

1
• A large amount of data should be 𝑢2 𝑦2
• committed to memory (model
𝒮2
𝑢3 𝑦3
and states); 𝒮3
• processed, for the
computation of the control
action.
𝒞

1
𝒮2
𝑢3 𝑦3
and states); 𝒮3
action.
• Information should be conveyed 𝒞

efficiently
• from the sensors to the central
controller;
• from the central controller to the • Possibly large distances
actuators. • Large number of links

1
𝒮2
𝑢3 𝑦3
and states); 𝒮3
action.

efficiently
controller;
• Requires limited uncertainties. Model

structural variations require the
controller to be re-designed
-> Downtime!

1
𝒮2
𝑢3 𝑦3
and states); 𝒮3
action.

efficiently
controller;
• Requires limited uncertainties. Model

structural variations require the
controller to be re-designed
-> Downtime! • For computational reasons
• For communication reasons
They may not be feasible! • Because they lack the necessary
flexibility
1
For control design and
𝒮1
implementation, these systems must
𝑢2 𝑦2
be regarded as a network of 𝒮2
systems, each to be controlled 𝑢3 𝑦3
with a dedicated controller 𝒮3

1
𝒮1
𝑢2 𝑦2
If large-scale/complex systems must be controlled, their analysis and synthesis
become very complex.
That is, these tasks cannot be solved just by using faster computers and larger
memories.
They necessitate new ideas for decomposing and dividing the analysis and control
problems of the overall system into rather independent subproblems and for dealing
with the uncertainties and with the lack of information about the system to be
controlled.

1
𝒮1
𝑢2 𝑦2
If large-scale/complex systems must be controlled, their analysis and synthesis
become very complex.
That is, these tasks cannot be solved just by using faster computers and larger
memories.
They necessitate new ideas for decomposing and dividing the analysis and control
problems of the overall system into rather independent subproblems and for dealing
with the uncertainties and with the lack of information about the system to be
controlled.
The definition of «largeness» of a system is itself subjective, taking a pragmatic
viewpoint: a system is considered to be large-scale whenever it is necessary to
partition it into a number of interconnected units either for conceptual or for
computational reasons.

Control schemes and architectures
«Decomposition-based» approach: decompose the control problem into
subproblems and make each subsystem controlled by a local feedback loop.
𝑢1 𝑦1
𝒮1
𝑢2 𝑦2
𝒮2
𝒮3
𝑢3 𝑦3

𝐶1
𝑢1 𝑦1
𝒮1
𝑢2 𝑦2
𝒮2
𝐶2
𝒮3
𝑢3 𝑦3
𝐶3

• Reduced computational • Fast computation.
load in control action • Scalability, i.e., the
computation. size of the reduced
𝐶1 problems is limited,
regardless of the size of
𝑢1 𝑦1
𝒮1 the large-scale one.
𝑢2 𝑦2
𝒮2
𝐶2
𝒮3
𝑢3 𝑦3
𝐶3

𝐶1 • Reduced communication problems is limited,
burden (wired): regardless of the size of
𝑢1 𝑦1 • Local transducer
𝒮1 local control station
the large-scale one.
• Local control station

• No (or limited)
𝑢2 𝑦2 local actuator
𝒮2 transmission delays
• No (or limited)
𝐶2 transmission failures
𝒮3
𝑢3 𝑦3
𝐶3

𝐶1 • Reduced communication problems is limited,
burden (wired): regardless of the size of
𝑢1 𝑦1 • Local transducer
𝒮1 local control station
the large-scale one.
• Local control station

• No (or limited)
𝑢2 𝑦2 local actuator
𝒮2 • Reduced memory transmission delays
required: • No (or limited)
𝐶2 • Store local subsystem transmission failures

model
• Changes in a part does
𝒮3 •
• Store local variables
Local model uncertainties not require the re-
𝑢3 𝑦3 can be reduced design of the overall
𝐶3 • Local controllers can be
made robust with respect
system (modularity).
to uncertain
interconnections

Decentralized control
• Local controllers attached to each

𝐶1
input/output channel
𝑢1 𝑦1
𝒮1 • Absence of communication between
𝑢2 𝑦2 controllers limits the achievable
𝒮2 performance
𝐶2
𝒮3
𝑢3 𝑦3
𝐶3

Distributed control
• Local controllers attached to each
input/output channel (as in the
decentralized scheme)
𝐶1 • Controllers can communicate: one can
𝑢1 𝑦1 tune the trade-off between
𝒮1
communication burden and
𝑢2 𝑦2
𝒮2 performance
𝐶2 • Middle ground between centralized and

decentralized schemes.
𝒮3 • Communication graph is often part of the
𝑢3 𝑦3 design problem.
𝐶3 • Chellenges due to network non idealties
(delays, packet dropouts, etc.)…

Three different “network” layers

Layer 1: system
interconnections network
• Dynamic interactions
• Coupling constraints
𝑢1 𝑦1 • Common goal
𝒮1
𝑢2 𝑦2 Subsystems whose dynamics
𝒮2 and/or objective functions
have a neighborhood
structure that can be
𝒮3 described by a graph.
𝑢3 𝑦3

Layer 2: decision (control)

network
• The decision taken by an
𝐶1 agent may depend upon the
decision taken (possibly at
different time instants) by
other agents.
• The decision network may
𝐶2 not overlap with the system
interconnection (e.g., in
decentralized control the
decision network is absent)
𝐶3

Layer 3: communication
network (infrastructure)
• How data are transmitted
from one agent to the
others?
• The decision network may
not overlap with the
communication network
(multi-hop communication
is possible).

Challenges and issues
Issues addressed in the following lectures:
• Is it (structurally) possible to design a

decentralized/distributed controller that confers stability?

Challenges and issues
Issues addressed in the following lectures:
• Is it (structurally) possible to design a

decentralized/distributed controller that confers stability?
• How to design a decentralized/distributed controller?

Examples: DETACHED CARTS ON A RAILWAY
𝑚𝑖 𝑝ሷ 𝑖 = 𝑚𝑖 𝑣ሶ 𝑖 = −ℎ𝑖 𝑣𝑖 + 𝑢𝑖
0 1 0
𝑝ሶ 𝑖 ℎ𝑖 𝑝𝑖 1 𝑢𝑖
= 𝑣𝑖 +
𝑣ሶ 𝑖 0 −
𝑚𝑖 𝑚𝑖

÷:*
*
""""
𝑝1
0
0 −
1
ℎ1
𝑚1
02×2 02×2
V00
0
1]
𝑚1
02×1 02×1
𝑣1 0 1 0 𝑢1
𝑝2
𝑥 = 𝑣 ,𝐴 =
2
02×2 0 −
ℎ2 02×2 , 𝐵 = 02×1 1 o
02×1 , 𝑢 = 𝑢2
𝑝3 𝑚2 𝑚2 𝑢3
𝑣3 0 1 0
02×2 02×2 ℎ3 02×1 02×1 1
0 −
𝑚3
sorgerà
𝑚3
1 0 01×2 01×2 𝑦1
𝐶 = 01×2 1 0 01×2 , 𝑦 = 𝑦2
01×2 01×2 1 0 𝑦3

?⃝
% =P >
→
[È;) si:&0;) [ :]
c- :: : : : » =p . .
a-
I
{ =P}
0 ° °
o o
→ 3
02×1 02×1
1 0 02×1
𝐵1 = 𝑚1 , 𝐵2 = 1 , 𝐵3 = 0
02×1 𝑚2 1
02×1 02×1 𝑚3
𝐶1 = 1 0 01×2 01×2 , 𝐶2 = 01×2 1 0 01×2 ,

𝐶3 = 01×2 01×2 1 0

Examples: CARTS ON A RAILWAY CONNECTED
NAEI
THROUGH SPRINGS AND DUMPERS
𝑚1 𝑝ሷ1 = 𝑚1 𝑣ሶ 1 = −ℎ1 𝑣1 + 𝑢1 − 𝑘12 (𝑝1 − 𝑝2 ) − ℎ12 (𝑣1 − 𝑣2 )
𝑚2 𝑝ሷ 2 = 𝑚2 𝑣ሶ 2 = −ℎ2 𝑣2 + 𝑢2 − 𝑘12 𝑝2 − 𝑝1 − ℎ12 𝑣2 − 𝑣1

−𝑘23 (𝑝2 − 𝑝3 ) − ℎ23 (𝑣2 − 𝑣3 )
𝑚3 𝑝ሷ 3 = 𝑚3 𝑣ሶ 3 = −ℎ3 𝑣3 + 𝑢3 − 𝑘23 (𝑝3 − 𝑝2 ) − ℎ23 (𝑣3 − 𝑣2 )

n

manica "> BALÌA ,×
systems d)
; §
cauti
0 1 0 0
𝑘12 (ℎ1 + ℎ12 ൯ 𝑘12 ℎ12 02×2
𝑝1 − −
𝑚1 𝑚1 𝑚1 𝑚1
𝑣1 0 0 0 1 0 0
𝑝2 𝑘12 ℎ12 𝑘23 ℎ23
𝑥 = 𝑣 ,𝐴 = (𝑘 + 𝑘23 ൯ (ℎ + ℎ12 + ℎ23 ൯ ,
2 − 12 − 2
𝑝3 𝑚2 𝑚2 𝑚2 𝑚2 𝑚2 𝑚2
𝑣3 0 0 0 1
02×2 𝑘23 ℎ23 𝑘23 (ℎ3 + ℎ23 ൯
− −
0 𝑚3 𝑚3 𝑚3 𝑚3
1 02×1 02×1
𝑚1
0 𝑢1 1 0 01×2 01×2 𝑦1
𝐵 = 02×1 1 02×1 , 𝑢 = 𝑢2 , 𝐶 = 01×2 1 0 01×2 , 𝑦 = 𝑦2
𝑚2 𝑢3 01×2 01×2 1 0 𝑦3
0
02×1 02×1 1
𝑚3
0 02×1 02×1
1 0 02×1
𝐵1 = 𝑚1 , 𝐵2 = 1 , 𝐵3 = 0
02×1 𝑚2 1
02×1 02×1 𝑚3
𝐶1 = 1 0 01×2 01×2 , 𝐶2 = 01×2 1 0 01×2 ,

𝐶3 = 01×2 01×2 1 0

Examples: RIGIDLY CONNECTED CARTS ON A
RAILWAY
(𝑚1 + 𝑚2 + 𝑚3 )𝑝ሷ𝑖 = (𝑚1 + 𝑚2 + 𝑚3 )𝑣ሶ tot = −ℎtot 𝑣tot + 𝑢1 + 𝑢2 + 𝑢3

𝑣1 = 𝑣2 = 𝑣3 = 𝑣tot
0 0 0 1 0 0 0
𝑝1
0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
𝑝2
𝑥 = 𝑝 ,𝐴 = 0 0 0 1 ,𝐵 = 0 0 0 ,𝐶 = 0 1 0 0
3 ℎtot 1 1 1
𝑣tot − 0 0 1 0
0 0 0
𝑚tot 𝑚tot 𝑚tot 𝑚tot
0 0 0
0 0 0
𝐵1 = 0 , 𝐵2 = 0 , 𝐵3 = 0
1 1 1
𝑚tot 𝑚tot 𝑚tot
𝐶1 = 1 0 0 0 , 𝐶2 = 0 1 0 0,
𝐶3 = 0 0 1 0
RAILWAY
È
•
←
:
e
0 1 0 0 0
ℎtot 02×2 02×2 1 1 1
0 −
0 1 0 0 0
𝐴= 02×2 ℎtot 02×2 ,𝐵 = 1 1 1
0 −
0 1 0 0 0
02×2 02×2 ℎtot 1 1 1
0 −
1 0 01×2 01×2
𝐶 = 01×2 1 0 01×2
01×2 01×2 1 0

RAILWAY
0 0 0
1 1 1
0 0 0
𝐵1 = 1 , 𝐵2 = 1 , 𝐵3 = 1
0 0 0
1 1 1
𝐶1 = 1 0 01×2 01×2 , 𝐶2 = 01×2 1 0 01×2 ,
𝐶3 = 01×2 01×2 1 0

Examples: CASCADED LINEARIZED WATER TANKS
www.rsuan.jo
T'
𝑆1 𝑙1ሶ = −𝑘1 𝑙1 + 𝑢1
MAl 𝑆2 𝑙2ሶ = −𝑘2 𝑙2 +0𝑘1 𝑙1 + 𝑢2
𝑘1 1
− 0 0
𝑙 𝑆1 𝑢1 𝑆1 𝑦1 1 0
𝑥= 1 ,𝐴 = ,𝑢 = 𝑢 ,𝐵 = ,𝑦 = 𝑦 ,𝐶 =
𝑙2 𝑘1 𝑘2 2 1 2 0 1
− 0
𝑆2 𝑆2 𝑆2
1 0
𝐵1 = 𝑆1 , 𝐵2 = 1 , 𝐶1 = 1 0 , 𝐶2 = 0 1
0 𝑆2

PART - II.01 - Introduction To DeDiCont

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Course:

Part II: Decentralized and distributed control - Introduction

Prof. Marcello Farina

Dipartimento di Elettronica, Informazione e Bioingegneria (DEIB)

Marcello Farina Introduction to distributed and decentralized control

Marcello Farina Introduction to distributed and decentralized control

Marcello Farina Introduction to distributed and decentralized control

• Fleets of underwater autonomous

Marcello Farina Introduction to distributed and decentralized control

• Fleets of underwater autonomous

Marcello Farina Introduction to distributed and decentralized control

Marcello Farina Introduction to distributed and decentralized control

Increasing demand and availability of local (i..e, at consumer level)

Marcello Farina Introduction to distributed and decentralized control

Control and optimization issues at different levels:

Marcello Farina Introduction to distributed and decentralized control

Control and optimization issues at different levels:

Marcello Farina Introduction to distributed and decentralized control

Control and optimization issues at different levels:

Marcello Farina Introduction to distributed and decentralized control

Marcello Farina Introduction to distributed and decentralized control

Traditional centralized control structures are not suitable

Need of more complex control architectures

Marcello Farina Introduction to distributed and decentralized control

Traditional centralized control structures are not suitable

Need of more complex control architectures

Novel hierarchical and

Marcello Farina Introduction to distributed and decentralized control

Goal: design a mobile sensor network to collect measurements from a field

Marcello Farina Introduction to distributed and decentralized control

Marcello Farina Introduction to distributed and decentralized control

Marcello Farina Introduction to distributed and decentralized control

Marcello Farina Introduction to distributed and decentralized control

Marcello Farina Introduction

«Multi-agent systems» is a subclass of network-structured systems,

Marcello Farina Introduction to distributed and decentralized control

«Multi-agent systems» is a subclass of network-structured systems,

Marcello Farina Introduction to distributed and decentralized control

«Multi-agent systems» is a subclass of network-structured systems,

• High dimensionality: large number of

• Uncertainties: they may affect the single

Marcello Farina Introduction to distributed and decentralized control

Marcello Farina Introduction to distributed and decentralized control

Marcello Farina Introduction to distributed and decentralized control

Marcello Farina Introduction to distributed and decentralized control

• Information should be conveyed 𝒞

Marcello Farina Introduction to distributed and decentralized control

• Information should be conveyed 𝒞

• Requires limited uncertainties. Model

Marcello Farina Introduction to distributed and decentralized control

• Information should be conveyed 𝒞

• Requires limited uncertainties. Model

Marcello Farina Introduction to distributed and decentralized control

Marcello Farina Introduction to distributed and decentralized control

Marcello Farina Introduction to distributed and decentralized control

Marcello Farina Introduction to distributed and decentralized control

Marcello Farina Introduction to distributed and decentralized control

Marcello Farina Introduction to distributed and decentralized control

• Local control station

Marcello Farina Introduction to distributed and decentralized control

• Local control station

𝐶2 • Store local subsystem transmission failures